Mr Brightside
by tinyhuman02
Summary: An unexpected visit from April's former high school flame makes Jackson question whether or not he truly appreciates his wife. Two-shot; Japril canon through 10x19, semi-AU for the Everwood crossover references.
1. The Ex-Boyfriend

**Hey, folks! So this is just a little two-shot I decided to write based on a gifset I posted on tumblr. Anybody who has watched Everwood will be familiar with the Bright/Hannah story, but for those who haven't Hannah was played by Sarah Drew, who you know plays April on Grey's. I thought a crossover between the two shows would be fun since Hannah is almost like a teenage version of April. In this case, Japril is canon through 10x19 and Brannah's love story is also canon from Everwood. However, there is no Hannah in this story - just April ;)**

**This story does contain some Everwood spoilers (if you're currently watching it or plan on it). I'm also addressing some of the issues Japril is facing pre-10x20 fight. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Grey's or Everwood. This is all in good fun!**

* * *

April Kepner stood by the nurses' station skimming through her tablet while she waited for her resident to arrive. Today, she was determined to teach Jo Wilson how to run the ER and possibly sway her into becoming her trauma protégé. She had been itching to mentor somebody and she believed the second year resident was a good fit for trauma surgery.

Jo had her share of hanging around Alex Karev in peds and started finding her niche in ortho with Callie Torres. However, April was determined to prove how fascinating trauma surgery could be. All of the critical patients came through the ER. Trauma surgeons needed to be fast on their feet and analyze the situation quickly. They were typically the first hands on deck when paramedics came in to deliver a new patient. Multiple surgeries in one day sometimes happened. Plus, just about anything could come through those sliding doors. The unexpected made trauma surgery intriguing.

She had nothing against peds and ortho after experiencing both as a resident, but April wanted to teach somebody who was willing to listen and learn. And she saw that type of potential in Jo.

Five minutes later, Jo appeared and smiled at the redhead after she arrived. "Good morning, Dr. Kepner." She scanned the pit to find it almost empty. Only three of the twelve beds were occupied. "Slow day?"

"Don't feel discouraged just yet. It's still early in the day. Traumas can come rushing in any minute now," April chirped, holding her tablet against her chest. She slightly bounced back and forth on her heels as she quietly stood in front of Jo. She checked her watch a minute later. "Yup, any minute now."

Her resident simply stood in place with her hands inside of her lab coat pockets. Jo slowly nodded, forcing herself to smile. "You know, Dr. Karev has his hands full with some patients upstairs in peds. If you don't mind, I thought I could take care of some of his post-ops."

"No, no. You're on my service today and you're staying here," April insisted, politely waving her hand. She softly gasped and grinned. "Ah! I know what I can do with you. Until something major comes through those doors, I will teach you how to run this entire ER on your own. I taught Edwards last year during her first real shift in the pit and she nailed it like a pro. I'm confident you can do the same. That's exciting, right?"

Jo awkwardly grinned as she pumped her fist. "Yeah…"

The trauma surgeon suddenly frowned. "Alright, no fake enthusiasm when you're on my service. You're either into trauma or you're not."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Kepner. I thought that you were…" She paused, stopping herself from putting her foot in her mouth. April was the perkiest doctor in the hospital. No fake enthusiasm on her part. "I'm eager to learn from you, I promise."

A nurse sitting behind the counter called out April's name. "Dr. Kepner, incoming trauma about five minutes away."

"Thank you," she answered, smugly smiling at Jo. April led her towards the room where they stored trauma gowns. "Let's go pick up our trauma!"

"Woo!" the second year resident cheered from behind. She received a brief glance from April and she sheepishly grinned. "I'm genuinely enthusiastic, I swear!"

Both women removed their lab coats and wore yellow trauma gowns over their scrubs. They waited outside of the ER for the ambulance to arrive. The sirens grew louder and louder until the red truck appeared in front of them. Paramedic Nicole hopped out from the back as April and Jo helped her carry out the gurney.

"Harold Abbott, age 35. Attacked by a bear while camping. He's got three deep lacerations along his left cheek, some smaller cuts on his arms and abdomen. BP is 90 over 50 and he's tachycardic. We picked him up in downtown after his friend's car broke down. Patient was unconscious when we arrived at the scene, but he was also apparently stupidly drunk, which explains why he got so close to the bear in the first place," Nicole reported, rolling her eyes afterwards.

"Thanks, Nicole," April acknowledged. The short haired woman scoffed before walking away. "You'd think many months later, she would be over the wedding debacle. At least she didn't insist that I should've been mauled by that bear. I think we're making progress. Very slowly, but it's progress."

Jo smirked before she glanced over the man's injuries. Half of his face was covered with gauze, though blood had stained most of it. His other wounds were also wrapped in gauze. Blood was all over his face and blonde hair. "Geez, what was he trying to do? Wrestle with the bear? I mean, if he was drunk, it would make sense."

"Let's get him into a trauma room ASAP," the trauma surgeon ordered. She and Jo pushed the gurney through the entrance of the ER. April signaled to a nurse as they walked past the nurses' station. "Page Dr. Avery to trauma room one, please."

They set the gurney in the middle of the trauma room and a couple of nurses quickly prepped their patient by attaching an IV to him and connecting him to various monitors. April and Jo both slipped on a new pair of gloves before tending to the injured man.

"Wilson, check the wounds on his face, while I examine him for other possible abdominal injuries," April instructed.

Jo stood beside the man's head and carefully peeled off the blood drenched material on his cheek. Her mouth dropped open as parts of his skin came off with it. "Oh, God!" she shrieked as blood dripped out from his wounds. "Uhh, I need some gauze over here! A lot, please."

"What should we start treating him for, Dr. Wilson?" she questioned.

"Considering the circumstance, we should give this man an anti-rabies and tetanus vaccination to be on the safe side," the brunette calmly answered. "And when his vitals are stable send him upstairs to Radiology for a CT scan for any possible internal brain bleeds."

"Good. Let's get those vaccinations into his system stat," April ordered to a nurse. "Wilson, keep pressure on his wound until Dr. Avery arrives."

Suddenly, the door burst open and a man wearing a red flannel shirt and jeans walked inside. "Hey, is my friend gonna be alright?" he worriedly asked. "I told that idiot not to approach that damn bear!"

April looked back over her shoulder. "Sir, I need you to stay back and tell us exactly what happened."

"Uhh, well we were out camping about forty five minutes outside of Seattle. My buddy, he downed a six-pack of beer and got a bit crazy. This huge bear showed up at our campsite and he challenged it to a wrestling match," the man explained, removing his hat and nervously twisting it around in his hands. "He taunted it until it jumped on him. I managed to scare it off and I drove him back to town, but my car broke down in the middle of the road, so I called for an ambulance. Is he dead?"

"No, he's just unconscious," she answered while she examined one of her patient's cuts. "He should probably be grateful since he'll most likely be in excruciating pain when he wakes up. Anyway, we've got this under control, so please step out and sit in the waiting room. We'll update you when we can."

Jo snickered after their patient's friend left. "Huh, I was right. Only a drunken idiot wrestles with a bear."

April sighed, shaking her head as she cleaned a wound. "I don't understand people sometimes. He's lucky he's still alive." The door opened again, but this time it was her husband, Jackson Avery. "Hey, we got a good one for ya. Bear attack victim. Did a number on his face."

After Jackson wore a gown and a pair of gloves, he joined Jo and examined the deep wounds. He let out a low whistle, furrowing his brow. "This guy is definitely gonna need skin grafts. Half of his face is practically falling apart. There's substantial tissue damage, but nothing I can't fix." He pulled a stool with his foot and sat down. "I'll start cleaning this up and try to control the bleeding."

She waved over at Jo and nodded her head towards the portable ultrasound. "Wilson, why don't you go ahead and check for any possible internal injuries? I'll take care of the wounds on his forearm."

As her resident did as she was told, April used her foot to direct another stool beside Jackson's. She softly smiled at her husband, who was already diligently treating the exposed flesh on their patient's cheek. "How was your sandwich?" she happily asked.

"Nothing special. I mean, I've had the burger before and it still tastes the same – dry," he murmured.

She turned her head away from the cut she was cleaning, staring at her husband appalled. "I was referring to the roast beef and Swiss cheese sandwich I made you for lunch. Did you not see the brown paper bag in the fridge this morning?"

"I was in a hurry. I must have missed it."

"I reminded you at least five times to get your lunch from the refrigerator before I left early for work," April scolded him. She shook her head disappointedly. It hadn't been the first time he ignored her reminders. Jackson had the tendency to be a forgetful person, but it felt like she had to nag him constantly to make her point. "How can you pass up deli sliced roast beef?"

He laughed to himself. "Calm down. So I forgot to get my lunch from the refrigerator. There's always tomorrow."

"Except it may not taste as delicious tomorrow," the redhead muttered.

"I'll eat it for dinner if that'll make you happy," Jackson nonchalantly replied.

"That's not the point."

April had grown frustrated with how often she and Jackson weren't on the same page. She constantly thought one way and he thought the opposite. Rarely did they meet halfway on a topic that had nothing to do with sex. Even a simple, good deed didn't seem to register the way she wanted it to in her husband's head.

"Dr. Wilson, let's say your wife made you a sandwich for lunch, so you wouldn't have to spend your money on a less than average and dry burger from the cafeteria," she started, drawing a side eye from the plastics fellow. "Your wife just wanted to show you that she appreciates you by making a delicious sandwich using roast beef sliced delicately from his favorite deli. Would you eat a free sandwich your wife made or pay for a burger from the cafeteria?"

Jo glanced back and forth between the married couple from the opposite side of the gurney. It wasn't the first time she had been used as the deciding vote between April and Jackson. She preferred not to be pulled into another one of their disagreements because truthfully, it wasn't any of her business. However, the icy stare she received from the trauma surgeon was rather intimidating.

"Well, speaking hypothetically, I would eat my wife's sandwich. The little things matter too," she reluctantly answered with a half-smile. The annoyed expression on Jackson's face forced her to change the subject. "Everything looks normal in the ultrasound, Dr. Kepner."

The tension inside of the trauma room changed when their patient woke up mumbling incomprehensible words. His eyes fluttered open as April shot up from her seat and rushed around the gurney, stopping beside the uninjured side of his head. "Sir, try not to move. You're at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. You were attacked by a bear and you've sustained multiple lacerations to your face and body."

The man groaned when April shined a small flashlight into his eyes. "Did I win?" he mumbled. "Did I kick that bear's ass?"

"That's the last thing you should be worried about," Jackson responded with a smirk. He watched the man wince after he barely touched one of his open wounds, then he looked at a nearby nurse. "I'm going to need anesthesia for his face."

"You're lucky you aren't more injured than you could have been," April noted. She smiled down at the man. "Dr. Avery is a fantastic plastic surgeon. He will make sure your face heals with minimal scarring. And I'm Dr. Kepner. You're going to be fine."

"Hey, wait a second. I know that voice," the man opened his eyes wider to get a better look of the redhead. "April Kepner? Is that you?"

She furrowed her brow in confusion. "Who are you?"

"C'mon, you don't recognize my voice? Remember when I taught you how to marry the ketchups?"

April almost wanted to kick herself for not connecting the dots sooner when she heard his name. Then again, there were probably hundreds of Harold Abbott's in the country and she was more concerned about his health than his name. "Bright?"

He grinned, which immediately turned into a grimace due to the pain on the left side of his face. "Long time no see, huh? You look amazing. Last time I saw you was before you left for med school. So you did it. You're a surgeon now."

She shyly smiled, gently biting down on her bottom lip. "Yup, I'm a trauma surgeon. Bright Abbott, how could you let this happen to you? Your mother will have a heart attack when she finds out. And your father? Don't get me started on what he'll say-"

"Bright? I thought his name was Harold," Jo chimed in.

"Harold Brighton Abbott. Everybody calls me Bright," he enthusiastically introduced himself, saluting the resident with his right hand.

"So, how do you two know each other?"

April softly laughed. "Such a small world really. Bright was my boyfriend in high school. Well, my _only_ boyfriend in high school," she admitted, looking down at the only guy who ever truly accepted all of her while growing up in Moline. "What are you doing here in Seattle?"

"Ya know, just passing through with a buddy of mine. We decided to do this road trip thing, try to visit every state we've never been to, but uhh… we have to cheat a bit to get to Hawaii," Bright explained. "Your dad told me you lived here a while back, so I was gonna hit you up and see what you were up to. I guess I don't have to do that now. I dig the red hair. You got really, _really_ hot. Hotter than when I already thought you were hot."

Jackson cleared his throat, pursing his lips as he stared at Bright's wounds. "How about you tell us if you're experiencing any pain elsewhere on your body, so we can cancel out other possible injuries?"

"Hmm… it does hurt to breathe a little. I've got this sharp pain on the right side of my chest."

April placed her hand against Bright's chest. "Does it hurt when you inhale or exhale?"

He slowly breathed in and out, then he softly groaned. "Inhaling."

"I'll order some chest x-rays to check for possible rib fractures. How's your head? Your pupils appeared to be equally responsive to my flashlight, but we're going to give you a CT scan later to rule out any internal injuries."

"Throbbing like crazy, but I'm good. I swear, I feel just fine. You know me. I'm built to endure just about anything," Bright gloated, then he winced when Jackson poked his cheek with the anesthesia injection. "Oww!"

"Sorry about that. I should've warned you that this shot would sting a bit, but the left side of your face should become numb in a matter of seconds," Jackson half-heartedly answered, fighting back his smile.

The pretty boy had heard about Bright Abbott once before. He had randomly asked April about her lone boyfriend in high school out of curiosity, but her description of him hardly matched what he envisioned the other man to be like. In fact, he struggled to picture his wife and her ex-boyfriend together as a couple because they seemed too different for each other. Perhaps even more different than he and April, despite their own set of differences.

* * *

_April pressed her forehead against the counter, while Jackson folded laundry across from her. He had taken the time to take care of her laundry after she hadn't been able to do so herself. She was relieved to have clean underwear, but it took her husband having his way in the process for it to happen. And she had just learned that he spent $25,000 to pay for a private jet to deliver an artificial heart for Cristina Yang. She was fully aware that he came from a wealthy family, but she wasn't used to the idea of a person handing out money like it was candy._

_Growing up on the farm, she worked hard for everything. The Kepners weren't poor, but they certainly weren't at the same level as the Averys. Her father gave his four daughters an allowance after they completed their chores for the weekend. Unfinished chores meant no allowance for the week. And it wasn't like she could spend her allowance on whatever she wanted. Instead, she saved it to help pay for a used car she bought in high school._

_Being married to a man who hardly worried about expenses was very different from her own upbringing, sometimes overwhelming. And sharing her life with somebody who seemed to only prefer living by his way was frustrating, but she wanted them to work because they loved each other. Married life wasn't supposed to be easy, she reminded herself._

_"__I thought my high school years were hectic," she groaned. "But as a surgeon working long hours every week with little time to do anything outside of cutting, it makes my teenage years look like a cakewalk."_

_"__Tell me about the guy you dated in high school," Jackson casually inquired._

_April lifted her head from the counter with a puzzled expression on her face. "Bright?" She watched him quietly nod as he continued to fold laundry. "Why are you asking me about him now?"_

_He quickly shrugged. "Well, you mentioned high school and I remembered you told me during our drive to Tahoe that you had one boyfriend all through high school and his name was Bright Abbott. So, talk about him. Let's talk about something that has nothing to do with money or dirty underwear or leftovers."_

_"__Okay," she timidly replied. "Where should I start?"_

_"__Wherever you want. The basics. Describe him."_

_"__Bright was my friend's older brother. He's a few years older than us and umm… his father's a doctor," the redhead recalled, lightly tapping her fingers against the counter. "Before we started dating, I was crushing on him and he taught me how to marry two different ketchups into one bottle. It was awkward, yet cute. He even delivered me a small basket of little ketchup children. Bright was funny and sweet. He wasn't the smartest in the bunch, but he was smart when he wanted to be. I mean, he broke his arm trying to karate chop a piece of wood."_

_Jackson chuckled. "Sounds like a total dork."_

_"__He was adventurous. Oh, and he drove a truck. Umm… what else? He was basically a human garbage disposal," she continued, ignoring his comment. "And Bright somewhat helped me open up a little more. He's the first guy I let see me naked. We dated for almost a year and then broke up, but we remained friends until I left for medical school. We kind of lost touch after that."_

_"__He saw you naked?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. His wife playfully swiped at him and laughed. "No, seriously. There wasn't any actual sex, though? I mean, since you said you were a virgin when we had sex."_

_April rolled her eyes. "No sex. We just took a shower together. I'd go into detail on how that happened, but I'm sure you don't want to listen to me gushing over my ex-boyfriend."_

_"__Nah. Not really," the plastic surgeon replied, then he paused and looked at her. "How much touching was there?"_

_"__Jackson!" she yelped, shaking her head in embarrassment. "It was an innocent shower, honest. Does it upset you that you weren't the first man to see me naked?"_

_"__Of course not. I'm the one who ended up marrying you," Jackson scoffed and smiled at her. "Besides, I get to see you naked all the time. This Bright guy only saw you naked like once. Doesn't bother me at all."_

_She slowly nodded as she looked away from her husband. "Alright then. I believe you."_

_After he finished folding the last article of clothing in the basket, Jackson rested his palms on top of the counter and stared at April with a serious expression on his face. "Did you love him?"_

_April felt slightly taken aback by his interrogation. She couldn't understand why her history with an ex-boyfriend she hadn't seen in about ten years was important to him. "Yes, but why does that matter now?" she suspiciously responded. "I haven't seen Bright since I finished my undergrad studies. He could be married with kids to someone else for all I know and I'd be happy for him. I'm sure he would feel the same way about me, but I'm not in love with him anymore. I only love _you_, Jackson."_

_"__Listen, I'm not trying to sound like a jealous and possessive husband," he insisted, raising his hands in front of his chest. "I've never known much about your dating history except for Matthew. And if you want to know about any past ex-girlfriends, feel free to ask me anything."_

_The trauma surgeon grimaced. "Actually, I'd rather not. I feel better not having to compare myself to your possibly long list of ex-girlfriends."_

_"__So what do you want to know about me?"_

_"__Anything except for your old girlfriends. Like, how come you never told me you attended boarding school? Or what happened to your father-"_

_"__You know what I just remembered? I've gotta organize my notes for this week's board meeting, so let me deal with that and then we can figure out what to eat for dinner," he interrupted, leaving her alone in the kitchen._

_April frowned as she stood up to gather her clean clothes. What was so wrong about wanting to get to know her husband on a personal level? Even when they lived together at Meredith Grey's house Jackson had closed off that part of himself. While she knew his tendencies and random quirks, his personal life remained mostly mysterious and hidden in a closet in his head that even she couldn't break open. She hadn't realized how little she knew about him until they became a married couple._

_If she knew more about him, maybe she would be able to understand him better, she thought._

* * *

April had left the trauma room to update Bright's friend on his status, leaving Jackson behind to interact with her ex-boyfriend. He wanted to wait until she wasn't in the room with him to avoid possibly offending her with his questions because meeting him in person was much different than how he pictured the other man in his head.

"So you're _the_ Bright," Jackson murmured while he cleaned his patient's wound. "Not exactly who I imagined you to be."

"Why do you say that?" Bright asked curiously.

The plastic surgeon snickered to himself. "No offense, bro, but I never thought April would date a guy who was dumb enough to get mauled by a bear or break his arm trying to cut a piece of wood in half," he admitted.

Jo furrowed her brow at Jackson after overhearing his comments. "Well, she _did_ marry the man who destroyed her original wedding _and_ dumped his ex in front of everyone," she bluntly stated. Her anger towards him for humiliating Stephanie Edwards had faded, but she wasn't going to let him judge a person he just met and get away with it.

Bright noticed Jackson shift uncomfortably and he softly chuckled. "You and April are married?"

"Yes, Dr. Kepner is my wife," he confirmed.

"What's your name again, man?"

"Jackson Avery."

"Okay, so how long have you two been married?"

Jo smirked at the two men. "That's a very good question. In fact, how long were you and Dr. Kepner engaged, Dr. Avery?" she mischievously added. "Not very long, right?"

Jackson scowled at the second year resident before returning his attention to Bright. "Uhh, it was short. I'd say… about fourteen hours," he muttered. "We eloped a few months ago."

"Wow, I never knew she had it in her," Bright said, appearing surprised. "Huh, so she was about to marry some other dude and you showed up like a boss and broke it up? Ballsy. Her parents must have been pissed."

"Yeah, well… she's working on patching things up with them – I think," Jackson reluctantly said. The truth was he had no idea how April's relationship with her parents was since the wedding. He hadn't heard her talk about them nor did he ever ask. Facing the wrath of Mama Avery had been stressful enough for him. "I'm not trying to disrespect you, but I'm surprised April dated a guy like you."

"A guy like me? What do you mean by that?"

"You look like someone who was in the popular crowd. Am I right?" Jackson watched Bright slightly nod, then he shrugged his shoulders. "I know April wasn't that girl in high school. I'm not saying she wasn't attractive in high school. I've seen a picture of her as a teenager and she was cute… in that bookworm kind of way."

Bright glared back at him. "Hey, April was a cool girl back then. You think she couldn't attract a guy like me because she was a nerd? She was really smart and knew all these things that I could never retain in this huge noggin," he defensively replied. "I thought she was hot. Okay, she wasn't a world class model or anything, but she was hot. And like I said, she's even hotter now. I feel like I can say these things about your wife because as my doctor, you can't kick my ass for saying she's hot."

"I partially own this hospital, man. I can still kick your ass if I wanted to," the pretty boy smugly answered.

Jo sighed in annoyance. "Pardon my language, but your wife is a hot piece of ass, Dr. Avery. Instead of being concerned about how she looked in high school, just appreciate how lucky you are to be married to a woman who flat out ruined another man's life for you."

Before Jackson could retaliate, April returned to the trauma room and stood beside Jo. "Well, your friend isn't panicking as much. How's the bleeding in his face? We should send him upstairs for the CT scan and x-ray soon. You know how slow they can be in Radiology," she pointed out.

"I've been able to control the bleeding for now, so you can take him," her husband replied, covering Bright's cheek with new gauze. "We can discuss surgical options for your cheek after you're settled into a hospital bed."

"Alright, Wilson. Let's go ahead and bring him upstairs," the redhead ordered, helping Jo push the gurney out of the trauma room. They brought their patient to the nearest elevator and waited for it to arrive. "How's your face? Numb?"

Bright pointed at his left cheek. "It's so numb that I can probably punch my face and it won't hurt. Let me try."

April grabbed her ex-boyfriend's fist before he could attempt to punch himself. "Yeah, that's not a bright idea – no pun intended," she stated, forcing a laugh. "You punch yourself and blood will be pouring out from your face and we really don't want you damaging your cheek more than it already is."

"Oh, and I heard the news. Congratulations. That Dr. Avery must make you really happy if you blew off another guy for him," he noted.

She nervously chewed on her bottom lip as she noticed the amused stare from Jo. "Umm, thank you. It's a long story that I'm sure you don't care about, but I'm happy. He's my best friend and I'm very fortunate to call him my husband."

* * *

Watching his wife converse with Bright from outside of his hospital room, Jackson leaned against the counter of the nurses' station trying to appear relaxed, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of April. Her high-pitched laugh could be heard from where he stood. Whatever they were discussing made her smile and she seemed comfortable chatting with him, like they were picking up from where they had left off.

"Dude, I heard your patient is also April's ex-boyfriend," Alex Karev said in amusement. Jackson spun around to face his coworker, while the peds surgeon peeked inside of Bright's room from afar. "I'm not sure what's more surprising – the fact that he's not a dork like Kepner or you're jealous over some idiot who was mauled by a bear."

"I'm not jealous of that guy," Jackson insisted, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Oh, yeah? Then why are you spying on them like he's gonna pull a fast one and steal her away from you?" he teasingly questioned. "You got jealousy written all over your face. Jo told me what happened earlier."

The plastic surgeon sighed in frustration. "I'm not jealous of him, Karev." He glanced back at the twosome and mumbled, "He saw her naked when they were dating."

"And he didn't go blind?" Alex chuckled after Jackson hit his abdomen with his forearm. He rubbed his belly and continued to watch April and Bright talk. "Seriously, Avery. You two are freaking married. There's nothing to worry about unless the sex is bad. Then, maybe you should worry."

April started walking out of Bright's room causing Jackson to lightly shove Alex away from him. "Get out of here," he ordered, then he approached his wife. "Let's go for a walk."

She softly laughed when he grasped her hand and quickly led her down the hallway. "What's the rush?"

He opened the door to an empty on-call room, ushering her inside before closing the door behind him. She barely got another word out when he pinned her against the wall and kissed her.

"Jackson," April giggled as her husband planted kisses against her neck. She placed her hands on his shoulders, slightly pushing him away. "What's gotten into you? I don't object to what you're doing, but I thought you were going to talk to Bright after I visited with him."

"I know, but… you just look so hot in those scrubs right now," he huskily stated, firmly kissing her lips again. Jackson slipped out of his lab coat and peeled April's off of her shoulders. He picked her up and carried her to the nearby bed, setting her down onto her back. "And I'm sorry about forgetting to eat your sandwich."

"Oh, I'm over that. It's alright," she claimed, forcefully flipping them over so she was straddling his lap. April untucked Jackson's scrub top and slid her hands underneath it. She gently rubbed his chiseled abdomen and sighed. "I understand it's weird meeting my ex-boyfriend under the most random circumstance. I haven't seen him in so long that it's weird for me too."

He rested his hands against her waist, licking his lips. She was slightly rocking her hips back and forth. Her movements against his groin made him a little uneasy. "Bright doesn't bother me. All that bothers me at the moment is deciding what type of skin graft to use on him during the facial repair. Do I take skin from his thigh or his ass?"

April tugged on the strings of Jackson's scrub pants and loosened them. "Well, if you want _my_ opinion…" She leaned forward, stopping just before their lips could touch. "You're jealous over nothing. Admit it."

Jackson's mouth partially dropped open after his wife climbed off of him, picked up her lab coat and ditched him in the on-call room. He stared at the door long after it had closed. April was the biggest tease when she wanted to be and he felt like a fool. His plan to use sex to boost his ego had failed.

There was some jealousy involved, but admitting it was close enough to calling himself an idiot in his mind. And to make matters worse, not only could April read his jealousy but so could his coworkers. Even Bright Abbott himself could see it.

Yet still, he refused to admit it.

* * *

**Let me know what you think please :) I'll try to post the second part soon. Those waiting for a SITS update, I'll try to post something this weekend!**


	2. The Husband

**Thank you for the reviews! I'm really sorry for taking a long time to update this, but here's the final part of this short story. I'm not sure I really like it, so please me kind lol.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jackson entered Bright's hospital room carrying his tablet in his hand. April trailed behind, walking inside out of curiosity to find out what her husband's surgical plan was for her ex-boyfriend. Fortunately for Bright, he escaped the bear attack with bruised ribs and minor cuts that only needed stitches. The only major injury that required surgery was the large open wound on his left cheek. His eye was slightly swollen, but he remained in good spirits.

With his bed adjusted for him to partially sit up, a sober Bright held up his green Jell-O with his spoon. "You guys got any other flavors besides lime? This doesn't even taste like lime," he complained, jiggling the slimy dessert in front of his face. "Might even taste better if it had vodka in it."

"Let's set that aside for a few minutes because Dr. Avery would like to show you how he's going to fix your face," April amusingly replied, taking his Jell-O cup and moving his table away from him. "By the way, I called your father. He'll be here by tomorrow morning when you're in surgery."

"Aww, you called my dad?" he whined. "You couldn't call my sister or someone who won't lecture me during my recovery? C'mon, wouldn't you like a reunion with Amy? I bet you two have a lot to talk about. Call my dad back and tell him not to come. He doesn't have to be here for this."

She shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, but you deserve a lecture from your father after you nearly killed yourself."

Bright gestured his hand towards April as he grinned at Jackson. "You see what you married? She's always been like this, acting all selfless and stuff. Going out of her way to help you even when you don't want it."

"Also, your camping buddy bailed, so she needed to call someone to be your support system," Jackson noted.

"What? Todd left me here alone? That little sh-"

"Something about his car, but that's not the most important thing," the plastics fellow interrupted, then he opened a program to show a computerized version of Bright's cheek. He used his finger to zoom in on the injury. "Right now this is how half of your face looks. I'm going to take skin from your thigh to repair the skin you lost. And there should be minimal scarring once everything is healed. It'll look something like this."

Bright stared at the projected aftermath of his face. "But my face won't become all distorted? I dig the scar I'll get, but I don't want to look like I was given an unofficial face lift." He raised his eyebrow at April. "You're positive he's the best?"

The trauma surgeon nodded. "He was taught by the best," she confidently answered. "His mentor passed on all of his knowledge down onto him."

Hearing references of Mark Sloan without even actually hearing his name brought back memories for Jackson. It had been a while since he even thought about his deceased mentor. The last time he thought about Mark was the day of April's wedding. His final advice to the pretty boy had given him the boost he needed to finally stand up – literally – and tell his wife he loved her.

If he hadn't recalled that advice, where would he be now? Most likely not with April for sure. She would have married that paramedic and lived the life she had planned for herself since she was a child.

And now Jackson felt like an ass because he was more annoyed by the fact that the man he was about to fix used to be the only man April loved than feeling appreciative that his wife was complimenting his surgical skills. Bright was not a threat to their marriage, but he was looking at him like he could break them up in five minutes.

April's pager went off and she checked her message. "I'm needed in the pit. I'll stop by to see how you're doing before my shift is over, Bright."

After the redhead left the room, Bright let out a chuckle. "You and April eloped. I still can't get over the fact that she ran off with another guy in front of everyone. Props to you, man. I'm not sure I would've been able to pull that off and I've done a ton of outrageous things in my time."

"So, what drew you to her in the first place?" Jackson inquisitively asked, pulling a chair and sitting down beside the bed. He thought he might as well bond with Bright and find out if they had anything in common. Perhaps he knew things about April that he didn't. "How was she as a teenager? She's pretty mum about that."

"She was hot in her own way, like school librarian hot with the sweaters and glasses. And April was always at our house because of my sister Amy, so I saw her all the time when I lived at home," Bright recalled. "Huge dork, but I liked that about her. Better than the skanks I used to fool around with before we started dating. I was this jackass who nobody really took seriously, but April, she didn't see me as a complete idiot. Oh, and she made great sandwiches. She could make a BLT taste like it was worth a hundred bucks."

Jackson slightly cringed. That freaking uneaten sandwich he carelessly left at home suddenly made him very hungry now. "What else you got?"

"One of the best things she did for my family was she'd come over and cook us dinner when my mom was battling cancer. She didn't have to do it, ya know? But she wanted to because that's just the type of person she is – always putting others in front of herself," he noted. "And we weren't even dating yet. In fact, I had to grow a large set of balls to tell her I liked her. I rejected her once before because she really wasn't my type. Even when we were dating she was super insecure. She wouldn't believe me when I told her she was beautiful."

"How'd you deal with that?"

Bright smugly grinned. "I locked her in my bathroom, forced her to stare at herself in the mirror until she accepted the fact that she's beautiful," he proudly stated. "And then we took a shower together."

Just when Jackson thought he was warming up to the guy, he brought up the infamous shower story – though he never heard it in full detail from April. She had been courteous enough to not talk about it. "So umm, your face. Are the painkillers working for you?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It feels like half of my face is gone. That's good, right?" he chuckled.

"Means it's working. Anyway, try to get some rest for your surgery. I'll see you in the morning."

"Hey, can I ask you for a favor?" Bright asked before Jackson could leave the room. The plastic surgeon spun around on his heel in the doorway. "I'm not sure if this is allowed or anything, but would it be cool if April- Dr. Kepner- whatever I should be calling her is there for my surgery? The moral support would be nice."

Jackson pursed his lips, slowly nodding his head. "Uhh, I'll see if she's available. April might have her own surgery or an emergency coming in through the ER tomorrow. Why don't you ask her when she comes by again later?" he suggested. "If she can't, I'm sure she'll try to pop in during or after your surgery to see how you're doing. She's good like that."

He left the hospital room feeling a combination of relief and awkwardness. His wife _could_ sit in the surgery with him, which was better than being alone with Jo throwing stink eyes at him. He knew April wasn't scheduled for any surgeries until the afternoon. But as the same time, perhaps his wife being there would be a distraction for him. He wanted to concentrate on Bright, not Bright and April's former relationship.

Bright would be asleep on the table anyway, he thought. He wouldn't notice if she was there or not.

* * *

"So, your ex-boyfriend is here in this hospital?" Arizona inquisitively asked while she strolled through a hallway with April, a cup of coffee in each of their hands. Once word had spread that the redhead's ex-boyfriend wasn't imaginary, their coworkers were very curious. Having been known as the Virgin Mary for some time in the hospital, of course people were nosy. "And he tried to wrestle a bear?"

April noticed the amused expression on Arizona's face. "Bright is quite the character," she chuckled, sipping her coffee. They entered the OR gallery where Jackson was about to begin her ex-boyfriend's surgery. Bright was already asleep on the operating table with his torn face exposed. "That's probably why I loved him."

The pediatric surgeon leaned forward towards the window to get a clearer view of Bright. "Hmm… he's cute. Well, based on the half of his face that isn't falling off anyway." She sat down beside her coworker. "So why'd you two break up?"

"We… drifted apart," she reluctantly answered. "But it's fine. It's fine because I'm married to Jackson and even though he's unnecessarily jealous of Bright, I'm not going to let that bother me."

After returning home from work, Jackson had eaten the sandwich April made for him, but something felt off with him. He continuously threw compliments at her about her cooking skills as if he had never tasted anything she had made before. There was definitely some ass kissing involved, yet she found it adorable. She decided to leave it alone because she thought it was somewhat endearing.

However, she felt slightly annoyed that it took an ex-boyfriend for her husband to randomly compliment her for anything. It wasn't that he never did, but she thought he felt obligated to because of Bright's arrival. She knew he loved her, though sometimes it seemed as if Jackson needed that small kick in the butt in order to appreciate her a little more. Their communication improved since getting back together, but it still needed work. Both of them either spoke too much or not enough.

"Your feelings for Bright are a thing in the past, yeah?" Arizona watched the redhead nod in response. "Then Jackson has nothing to worry about. You know, I think he's just being one of those guys who has to compare himself to the ex. It's like a boost for their ego."

"In the back of my mind, I sort of think Jackson's paranoid that I'll fall back in love with Bright and cheat on him," April speculated, scrunching her face at Arizona. "That's stupid, right? He knows I wouldn't cheat on him. I'm not…"

The blonde woman forced a laugh when the trauma surgeon pursed her lips, likely holding herself back after remembering she was speaking to a former cheater. "I understand what you're saying and I know it wasn't your intention to bring up…_ that_. It's alright, April. Just tell him how you feel. Bottling everything in doesn't work out in the long run."

April slowly shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm making this into a bigger deal than it has to be."

"Or Jackson is. He's the jealous one after all," she noted. "Sometimes I think you blame yourself for things that aren't actually your fault. Don't let him off the hook easily. Give him a piece of your mind for a change."

"I know, but I don't want to fight."

Arizona playfully rolled her eyes at April. "Fighting comes with all relationships. You can avoid them, but that doesn't mean your problems will magically go away. Not all fights have a simple resolution, but that's why you work together to find one," she advised. "Besides, what makes you think you two will fight over this? You're just telling him how you feel. He should be willing to listen."

"That's kind of the problem," she muttered, staring down at her husband. "He tends to walk away when things start to become to tense or he starts changing the subject. I don't know why he does that a lot. It makes me feel like my opinions don't matter in the conversation."

"You should tell him that. Tell him to stop dismissing your opinions like they're less significant," Arizona suggested. "And if you want, you can always hold off on sex and see what he thinks after that. Make him earn it."

April softly laughed. "I did do that yesterday when he refused to admit he was jealous of Bright." She tapped her finger against the lid of her coffee cup. "Hey, do you think they're selling those burritos in the cafeteria today?"

"The one with the gray colored beans?" Arizona stated, shaking her head in disgust and looking at her friend confused. "Why on earth would you want to eat that?"

"Looks can be deceiving. I've eaten a cafeteria burrito three times this week and I also brought one home last night," she proudly admitted, drawing an eyebrow raise from the pediatric surgeon. "What? Have you tried it before? They're delicious."

"The cafeteria burritos are as delicious as the jambalaya," she answered with a smirk. "Either you're a trooper for eating that or you've got some weird pregnancy craving developing because I sure as hell wouldn't abuse my stomach like that."

The redhead shook her head and chuckled. "I am not pregnant. I know my body very well and nothing tells me that I am," she disagreed. "And I don't have any leftovers to bring for lunch at the moment, so my last resort is the cafeteria. It happens."

Arizona smiled as she sipped her coffee. "If you say so."

Down below in the OR, Jackson focused on repairing the damaged tissue on Bright's cheek. Jo was assigned the delicate job of collecting skin from their patient's thigh for later. Working together resulted in immediate awkward tension between the two of them. The second year resident continued to hold a grudge towards her superior for what he had done to Stephanie at the wedding. Her thoughts of wanting to crush his penis with a jackhammer faded, but she wasn't going to go out of her way to become friends with the plastics fellow.

She didn't know April very well and she used to consider her as the dud amongst all of the attendings. Working shifts in the ER under the trauma surgeon's watch changed Jo's mind about her. She may have married the man at the top of her hit list, but she couldn't completely fault April for the small fiasco in the barn. The cheerful redhead turned out to be one of those people who loved their job and was willing to teach her residents. Jo appreciated teachers who released their students from their leashes.

Jo wasn't supposed to be on Jackson's service, but working with plastics was rare for her. At least she hadn't been stuck with suctioning duty. April had been courteous enough to convince the pretty boy into allowing her to scrub in with him.

"How's it going with the skin grafts?" he questioned, briefly glancing at the brunette.

"I feel like I'm peeling a potato with this thing," she quipped, referring to the dermatome in her hand. "So umm, will I get a chance to stitch one of these bad boys onto his cheek?"

"Uhh… considering the location of the injury, it's best if I do this myself. I want to leave as much minimal scarring as possible on his face. My work will either leave this guy pleased or totally pissed off at me," Jackson murmured.

"Are you that worried about what your wife will think?"

He raised his eyebrow at Jo. "Excuse me? What does the end result have to do with her?"

"To be honest, I think you're more concerned about how Dr. Kepner will react than Bright. Do a below average job and she'll assume you're sabotaging his face, right?" she insinuated.

"Mind your own business, Wilson."

"Actually, it kind of _is_ my business because I was there with you in the trauma room yesterday when you started acting all superior towards this poor guy. He tried to wrestle a _bear._ Do you really think April's impressed, like she'll fall back in love with him?"

Jackson quickly shook his head. "Of course not. He just… he just made me realize that maybe I don't know her as well as I thought I did. Bright seems to know her better than I do," he confessed. "And alright, that made me a little jealous."

Jo smirked behind her surgical mask. "A little?"

"Fine, a lot. He saw her naked first," he muttered.

"And how many women saw you naked before she did? Do you hear her making a big deal about that? Seriously, what's the big deal? Get over yourself, Dr. Avery," she bluntly replied. "He'll be gone in a day or two and you'll look back at this and realize you were jealous over memories and not the actually person."

Rather than respond, Jackson sighed as he continued to repair Bright's face. Maybe Jo was right, he thought. A second year resident had more logic than he did regarding his marriage to April. He was overanalyzing the situation. On the other hand, he thought maybe he was overanalyzing everything because the idea that she could love someone else again scared him.

He let her go once. He didn't want to make that mistake again.

* * *

Following the surgery, Jackson gave Bright time to recover before checking on him in his hospital room. The surgery felt like a success, though his patient needed significant time for the skin grafts to heal. He wasn't required to stay at the hospital for much longer. As long as Bright took care of himself and didn't put himself in the position to ruin his healing skin, Jackson was looking forward to never seeing him again.

When he entered the room there was an older man with gray and white hair sitting beside Bright's bed. It could only be his father, who had flown in that day to see him. Jackson cleared his throat as he approached the man. "Hello, I'm Dr. Avery. I operated on Bright," he introduced himself, extending out his hand.

"Dr. Harold Abbott," the other man replied, firmly shaking the pretty boy's hand. He smiled as his eyes scanned Jackson from head to toe. "You're a plastic surgeon? You look quite young."

"Well, I'm close to the end of my plastics fellowship, but I learned from a very good plastic surgeon. Anyway, I'm sorry I never met with you in the waiting room-"

"Oh, don't sweat it. I just arrived about five minutes ago, so it's not your fault. It's really my son's fault for getting himself into another avoidable mess," Harold insisted and pointed at a sleeping Bright. "Now I'm just waiting for him to wake up, so I can ask him why he continues to make irresponsible decisions with his life."

"I suppose I can tell you the good news before he does," Jackson offered. "I was able to repair the damaged tissue in his cheek and rebuild the surface of his skin using some skin grafts from his thigh. The donor site should remain covered for another four to five days. Since you're a doctor I'm sure you're aware of how the recovery period works."

Harold nodded. "Yes, of course. Just give me his post-op treatment plan and I will ensure he follows everything correctly."

April walked inside, gasping with a smile on her face. "Dr. Abbott, how are you?"

"Look at you! April Kepner, my you've grown up a lot since the last time I saw you," he happily greeted her. The two hugged each other tightly, then he placed his hands on top of her shoulders. "I always knew you would become a doctor and a surgeon to be exact."

"Thank you. I was just coming to stop by for a while to see how Bright's doing, but it looks like he's still knocked out." She turned to face Jackson, patting Harold's hand. "Dr. Abbott runs his own practice in Moline. He was the go to doctor to see when we were sick and other stuff."

"But I am no surgeon like you two kids. How have you been, April?"

"I'm great. I'm married now," the redhead proudly announced.

"To a paramedic, right? I recall speaking to your father a few months ago. He told me you were engaged to a paramedic. Congratulations!"

April nervously laughed, while Jackson raised his eyebrows at her. It was obvious to him that she hadn't spoken to her parents since the wedding or they were lying to their small town of Moline about who she married. He doubted they went around town telling everybody that their daughter was a horrible person who was going to rot in Hell. Now he wondered – did any of the Kepners _know_ they had eloped?

It was easy for Catherine Avery to find out because of her connections to the hospital, but April not telling her parents wasn't as difficult to hide. He hoped she would have at least told them even if their reactions weren't pleasant. They weren't hiding their marriage anymore.

"Actually," she shyly replied, moving next to Jackson and wrapping her arm around his waist. April grinned at Harold as she placed her free hand against her husband's chest. "I'm married to Jackson- I mean, Dr. Avery. This is my husband."

Harold appeared surprised at first, but he eventually smiled at the couple. "Oh, that's exciting too. You two look very happy together," he complimented, then he grabbed a hold of Jackson's hand and shook it once more. "I saw April as another daughter. You found a very good one, young man."

"Thank you, sir," Jackson answered graciously. "She makes me really happy."

Moments later, mumbling could be heard from Bright's bed. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned at the sight of his father. "Oh, crap. You came."

Harold chuckled, slipping his hands inside of his pockets. "Of course I did. If I was your mother, she would be in your ear right now. Do you have any idea how worried she was about you?" He gestured towards April. "Thankfully, you had someone familiar to keep an eye on you until I arrived."

April lightly tugged on the older man's arm. "Dr. Abbott, why don't we head over to the cafeteria for some coffee? I bet you're a little worn out from your trip," she politely suggested. "In fact, we can catch up at the same time. I'd love to know what Amy's up to now."

"Coffee sounds great. You really haven't changed, April. Still so charming and selfless."

Bright watched the two of them leave his room, already chatting up a storm. "She just saved me from a long and droning lecture," he jokingly said, looking back at Jackson. "How'd the face do? I hope my career in taking glamour shots isn't over."

The plastic surgeon sat down beside the hospital bed. "Your face should be just fine. Try not to open your mouth too wide when you're talking and eating. You don't want to stretch your skin grafts and ruin them while you heal," he advised, then he pointed at Bright's left thigh. "There's a bandage covering the place where we harvested your skin, so change it every day for the rest of the week to avoid infection. Umm… do you have any questions?"

"I do. Why do you get all weird when I talk about April?" he bluntly asked. "I've noticed your facial expressions whenever I mention her and you always look uncomfortable. No offense, man, but you were kind of douchey yesterday."

"I… well, it's awkward meeting the first guy she fell in love with, you know?" Jackson admitted. "When you two were dating did you know she was saving herself for marriage? Because she completely blindsided me with that after we slept together the first time."

Bright raised his eyebrows at him. "She gave up the goods to you before you got hitched? Wow. When we dated she flat out told me she didn't believe in premarital sex. There was making out, but no actual sex." He laughed to himself. "The whole thing with the shower? Can you imagine taking a shower with April and not being able to go past first base? I mean, it was all done with good intentions, but she had a hot body that I couldn't… ya know, mess around with."

"It was more complicated than you might think," he insisted. "We had our own problems. It took us a long time to find our way back to each other. A lot of guilt and regrets got in the way."

"You cheated on her too?" the blonde man asked curiously.

"What? I never…" Jackson furrowed his brow at Bright. "_You_ cheated on April?"

Bright let out a sigh, nodding with a frown on his face. "We were in a lull in our relationship. I had broken my arm trying to chop a piece of wood, so April was babying me and even before that, the fire in our relationship was slowly dying. We had a fight and weren't talking to each other. One night, I met up with an acquaintance. She was hot. I mean, really hot and we had some beers and…" He paused, shaking his head disappointedly. "It was the dumbest mistake of my life. After I told April, she dumped me and she wouldn't speak to me for days."

"So, how'd you two become friends again?"

"It took a while for her to forgive me. We agreed to stay friends forever, but I always knew she was the one for me," he explained. "She got this scholarship to attend Notre Dame and went there for college. I worked my ass off to earn good grades and enough credits to transfer there. I followed her to Indiana thinking we could try again. And then I met someone else, so it never happened. To be honest, if I hadn't cheated on her, I think we might have been married by now. You're a lucky man, Doc. She's a keeper. Don't screw up like I did."

Jackson hadn't expected cheating to be the reason why April and Bright broke up. He was shocked anybody would hurt his wife like that. Although he had done his share of hurting her, he would never go as far as to cheat on her. A part of him began to understand why she used to be so insecure. To be cheated on by the one person she trusted the most, her self-esteem had taken a hard hit.

If Bright wasn't such a nice guy, he would have thrown a few punches at his healing face. But he and April were getting along as if he hadn't cheated on her at all, so he kept his fists down.

Jackson learned that he and Bright had something in common – at one point in their lives, April was the woman they let get away. Fortunately, the plastic surgeon managed to win her back before it was too late.

* * *

Arriving home later than her husband, April opened the front door of their apartment and was greeted by the loud roar of the vacuum cleaner. In the middle of the living room, she spotted Jackson cleaning the hardwood floors, which was normally her job. He wasn't a slob, but he also wasn't the most eager person to clean their home. Most of the cleaning was done by her instead. She also noticed he was wearing the pink rubber gloves she used to wash the dishes.

"Jackson, what are you doing?" she asked, though the sound of the vacuum overpowered her voice. April approached him and turned off the vacuum to catch his attention. He spun around and placed his hands behind his back. "Hey, you're cleaning with my dishwashing gloves. Why?"

He sheepishly grinned as he slipped the gloves off of his hands. "I was hoping you'd be in the ER a little longer, so I could finish cleaning the apartment. I've already done our bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen is halfway done, but I thought I'd get the vacuuming part out of the way."

"This is really sweet of you, but why are you suddenly in clean freak mode? That's my job," she quipped.

Jackson wrapped his arms around April's smaller frame and kissed the top of her head. "You do a lot for me and this is my way of saying, 'Thank you'. I didn't have time to cook dinner, so this is the best alternative to show that I admire you more than you might think."

"I appreciate what you're doing, but…" She slightly pulled away from him and smirked. "I know ass kissing when I see it, so what did you do? If it's really bad, I promise I won't yell at you. Well, it depends on what you did. If it's terrible, then I may have to yell."

"April, I haven't done anything wrong. And for the record, I would _never_ cheat on you."

Her mouth slightly dropped open and she pointed her finger at his chest. "Bright told you, didn't he? Oh my gosh, he told you why we broke up!" The redhead plopped down onto the couch, burying her face into her palms. "And now you're cleaning because you feel sorry for me!"

Jackson grimaced. "No, no. That's not it. I don't feel sorry for you." He sat down beside his wife, resting his hand against her lower back. "I'm not cleaning because I feel sorry for you. I… I know I haven't been very appreciative of the things you do for me. After talking to Bright, I realized I may have been taking you for granted. It sounded like you two had this really good thing going until he screwed up and I don't want that to happen to us. I mean, I wouldn't turn to cheating after a big fight with you. That's not me."

April lifted her head to look at Jackson. "Bright cheating made me feel like I wasn't good enough for him. I know he loved me for a variety of reasons, but sex was always that wedge between us. He respected the fact that I wanted to wait until marriage to have sex, but he had to crack at some point," she explained, twisting her engagement ring back and forth around her finger. "After we broke up, I was always reluctant to tell people I was a virgin and _why_ I chose to stay one. The fact that you guys ridiculed me for being a virgin didn't help. I just thought no man who didn't share my beliefs would want to date me if sex wasn't on the table."

"And after you and I slept together, you just became more confused about your beliefs," he implied. His wife nodded in response. "In retrospect, we could've avoided the mess that came after we broke up if we actually talked about all of this. I was too stubborn to listen and I never really gave you a chance to explain yourself."

"My never ending rants certainly didn't make the situation better," she admitted and softly laughed. "Neither of us knew exactly what we were to each other. We were both confused about our feelings. Honestly, I still don't think we're open enough. I wish you would let your guard down and talk to me rather than walk away or change the subject. We're married now. I think our communication could be a lot better."

Jackson nodded in agreement. He sat back against the couch, pulling April along with him and draping his arm over her shoulder. "You wanted to know about my father. The truth is, I never knew him very well. He left when I was barely out of diapers. Couldn't handle the pressures of being an Avery, so he quit on all of us," he recalled. "Every now and then he would send me a birthday card, but I haven't heard from him since I was in high school. I'm not sure where he is now."

She pressed her cheek against his shoulder as she gazed up at him. "I'm sorry you grew up without a real father. Have you ever tried to locate him and reach out to him?"

"I don't really want to know him," he bitterly replied. "If he didn't care about me when I was three, then I don't expect him to care much now."

"What if he has a change of heart?"

"If he hasn't changed his mind now, I don't expect him to ever." Jackson gently rubbed April's arm with his thumb. Talking about his estranged father was difficult because he hated thinking about the father he barely had. There was never really anybody to talk to about his problems until he met his wife. They had built a mutual trust with each other and now he thought it was her turn to be honest with him. "Your turn. How often do you speak with your parents? Do they know we're married?"

"I've told them. About two weeks after we eloped, I called my parents and told them. They were disappointed in me because I had just ruined one wedding and married another man without them being there to witness it," the trauma surgeon admitted, biting down on her bottom lip. "I've been scared to call them since. The only other person in my family that I've spoken to is Alice. At least she sounded thrilled… I think."

Jackson smiled. "You should call your parents again. Enough time has passed that I think they won't be upset with you anymore. Besides, I want to meet your parents. You know my crazy mother, so it's fair that I meet your parents. After my mother grilled us during her last visit, I want us to show everybody that we can make this marriage work. Me and you, right?"

April kissed her husband's cheek and snuggled closer against his side. "Yup. Me and you."

* * *

**As you know, all of this would have taken place before their fight in 10x20, so I hope you like the fluffy ending. Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please leave a review and let me know what you think :)**


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